Dectin-1 Positive Dendritic Cells Expand after Infection with Parasites and Represent Promising Targets for Vaccine Development.

Resistant mouse strains mount a protective T cell-mediated immune response upon infection with (L.) parasites. Healing correlates with a T helper (Th) cell-type 1 response characterized by a pronounced IFN-γ production, while susceptibility is associated with an IL-4-dependent Th2-type response.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cell functionality and interaction with Leishmania major parasites differ in C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) represent a heterogeneous population of CD11b+ cells. According to the surface molecules Ly6G and Ly6C (where Ly6G and Ly6C are lymphocyte antigen 6, locus G and C, respectively), MDSCs are further divided into monocytic (Mo-MDSCs, CD11b+ /Ly6C(high) /Ly6G-) and polymorphonucleated suppressor cells (PMN-MDSCs, CD11b+ /Ly6C(int) /Ly6G+). Most published manuscripts focus on the suppressive role of MDSCs in cancer, whereas their impact on adaptive immunity against obligatory intracellular parasites is not well understood.

Langerhans cells promote early germinal center formation in response to Leishmania-derived cutaneous antigens.

Efficient formation of early GCs depends on the close interaction between GC B cells and antigen-primed CD4(+) follicular helper T cells (TFH ). A tight and stable formation of TFH /B cell conjugates is required for cytokine-driven immunoglobulin class switching and somatic hypermutation of GC B cells. Recently, it has been shown that the formation of TFH /B cell conjugates is crucial for B-cell differentiation and class switch following infection with Leishmania major parasites.

Humanized mice, a new model to study the influence of drug treatment on neonatal sepsis.

Bacterial infection with group B Streptococcus (GBS) represents a prominent threat to neonates and fetuses in the Western world, causing severe organ damage and even death. To improve current therapeutic strategies and to investigate new approaches, an appropriate in vivo model to study the immune response of a human immune system is needed. Therefore, we introduced humanized mice as a new model for GBS-induced sepsis.

Leishmania major infection in humanized mice induces systemic infection and provokes a nonprotective human immune response.

Background: Leishmania (L.) species are the causative agent of leishmaniasis. Due to the lack of efficient vaccine candidates, drug therapies are the only option to deal with cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Leishmania major parasite stage-dependent host cell invasion and immune evasion.

Leishmania pathogenesis is primarily studied using the disease-inducing promastigote stage of Leishmania major. Despite many efforts, all attempts so far have failed to culture the disease-relevant multiplying amastigote stage of L. major.

p54nrb is a new regulator of progression of malignant melanoma.

Nuclear RNA-binding protein p54(nrb) and its murine homolog NonO are known to be involved in a variety of nuclear processes including transcription and RNA processing. Melanoma inhibitory activity (MIA) has been shown to play an essential role in the progression of malignant melanoma and to influence melanoma-associated molecules and pathways in the early tumor formation steps. Interestingly, recent studies suggest that MIA is a regulator of p54(nrb).

Efficient control of Leishmania and Strongyloides despite partial suppression of nematode-induced Th2 response in co-infected mice.

Endemic regions for the pathogenic nematode Strongyloides and parasitic protist Leishmania overlap and therefore co-infections with both parasites frequently occur. As the Th2 and Th1 immune responses necessary to efficiently control Strongyloides and Leishmania infections are known to counterregulate each other, we analysed the outcome of co-infection in the murine system. Here, we show that Leishmania major-specific Th1 responses partially suppressed the nematode-induced Th2 response in co-infected mice.

Sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP2) activation after excess triglyceride storage induces chemerin in hypertrophic adipocytes.

Chemerin is an adipokine whose systemic concentration and adipose tissue expression is increased in obesity. Chemerin is highly abundant in adipocytes, yet the molecular mechanisms mediating its further induction in obesity have not been clarified. Adipocyte hypertrophy contributes to dysregulated adipokine synthesis, and we hypothesized that excess loading with free fatty acids (FFA) stimulates chemerin synthesis.